Norfolk, VA- On September 14th and 16th Old Dominion University will play host to the 26th annual ODU/ Stihl Soccer Classic, one of the premier soccer tournaments in the country. The College of Charleston, the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse and Old Dominion will each take part in the action. This will be Old Dominion's first home matches of the season after road games at UNC-Greensboro and Hofstra.

Syracuse University enters this weekend's tournament with a 2-1 record. Syracuse has defeated Colgate and Adelphi on the season, countered only by a loss to Boston College. The Orangemen are led by freshman Jarett Park, who has scored one goal and assisted on three others.

The College of Charleston will be looking to pick up their first win of the 2001 season. The Cougars recently lost to #1 SMU, and have been outscored 9-1 in their first three games. Old Dominion defeated the Cougars back in 1999 and hold a perfect 4-0 record against them.

The Penn Quakers, who will play Syracuse and Charleston, will be trying to bounce back from consecutive losses at Lehigh and Lafayette.

Old Dominion is attempting to halt a three game skid, during which they have lost three straight games by one goal. Two of those contests have come in overtime. The Monarchs are led by sophomore Attila Vendegh (Bratislava, Slovakia), who is currently leading the team and CAA in scoring with four goals and one assist.

The Stihl Classic will kick off on Friday afternoon at 4:30, when Syracuse takes on Penn in game one. Old Dominion and the College of Charleston will play in the nightcap at 7 p.m. On Sunday Charleston will face off with Penn at 12 p.m., followed by the final game of the tournament featuring ODU and Syracuse at 2:30 p.m.

Ticket prices are $4 for adults, $3 for military and senior citizens and $2 for groups of 10 or more. For information on tickets, please call the Old Dominion Athletic Ticket Office at 683-4444.